News is current information about events that are either happening now or have happened in the past. In the past, this was transmitted in print (newspapers, magazines), on radio and television or via telegraph and postal services. Modern communication technologies now bring breaking news instantaneously to consumers on TV, mobile phones, computers and the internet.
Events that make news are often significant or unusual, they can involve conflict, include violence and scandal, be familiar or local, have an impact or influence public opinion, be of interest to the community or nation or simply be entertaining. The most important thing is to write an article that has a snappy headline and is interesting. Having a well written story with all the main facts in order is also vital.
It is not enough to simply list the facts; you need to give some context, detail and background – why does this event matter, how has it affected the people involved, what has been done to address the situation and how does it compare with previous similar situations. Adding quotes from sources gives the article credibility and helps to add human interest.
If you land a news article, keep up the relationship – journalists are more likely to cover you again if you do so in the future. Keep your contact details up to date and share leads that you think they would find interesting – for example if Dr Jones is using his equipment to study malaria and it is successful, this should be reported – ‘Dr Jones has developed this new technique to study malaria’.